The present invention relates to wheel assemblies for land vehicles, and more specifically, to an arrangement of bearings for transferring the vehicle weight to the rotating wheel.
The art of vehicle wheel assemblies and bearings used therein is well developed. The bearing is a mechanical structure used to bear the friction occasioned when mechanical parts are in contact and have relative motion. Bearings used when the relative motion is rotation, such as in a wheel assembly for a vehicle, may be classified as journal bearings or as antifriction or ball and roller bearings. A typical ball bearing assembly includes an outer race which fits on the housing, an inner race which fits on this rotatable shaft or axle, the cage or retainer which separates the balls and keeps them properly spaced and a plurality of ball bearings disposed about the periphery of the assembly. While the purpose of the bearing is to reduce frictional forces, both static and dynamic, between contacting rotating and non-rotating mechanical parts, the known bearing assemblies do not eliminate the frictional forces. These forces of course must be overcome by the torque developed by the drive system of the vehicle. Thus, a wheel assembly having an arrangement of bearings which would further reduce friction and consequently the required drive torque, would be quite useful, especially in light of the growing demand and lessening supply of liquid fossil fuels for internal combustion engines.